Saint Thomas
Saint Thomas is the official capital of Aethelnia. Saint Thomas is often nicknamed the City of Domes. It is the largest metropolitan area in Aethelnia, as well as its cultural and political centre. The capital is one of the Cantons of Aethelnia. Saint Thomas and his Ingallish settlers founded the town. Saint Thomas features prominently on the coat of arms and the flag of Greater Saint Thomas canton. Name According to legend, Thomas was the leader of the first group of Ingallish settlers from the Eras continent. He brought Cruisianity to present-day Aethelnia. He is a saint in both the Church of Aethelnia, the Papaist Church and the Orthodox Church, who celebrate his feast day on Saint Thomas Day, on 29 April. He died as a martyr, being torn limb from limb by lions. The local authorities hoped to make an example of him and thus discourage Cruisanism from spreading. Instead, he met with and encouraged Chruisians who flocked to meet him all along his route. He wrote letters to the Angliyaan, Hibernian, Phenixian, Gardlian, and Hoch peoples in the regions around Saint Thomas. He based his authority on living his life in imitation of Chruis. He is the patron saint of Aethelnia. His bones are on display as a holy relic at Saint Thomas' Cathedral. History Saint Thomas became a canton in it's own right on 10th of December 07. Previously, during year 301-307 it had been a short-lived federal district, called Saint Thomas FD, under direct control of the federal government. At some point during it's history, present-day Saint Thomas was part of the territory of the Prince-Archbishopric of Saint Thomas, an ecclesiastical state itself a nominally dependent part of the (former Empire of) Angliyaa. Symbols The canton's motto reads Sanctus Thomas Patronus Populus Aethelniae, which translates into ingallish as'' 'Saint Thomas, Patron (Saint) of the people(s) of Aethelnia.'' Geography Saint Thomas straddles the natural border between Aethelnia's lowlands in the east, and her highlands in the west, and marks the entrance to Saint Thomas' Valley. The town lies on the banks of two bodies of water, the river Aethel and Lake Meldrum. The town is centrally located, both geographically and strategically. Education Saint Thomas is home to the prestigious Saint Thomas University. A comprehensive research university with ca. 40,000 students. There are 8 faculties, History, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Economy, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry, and Information Technologies. It has a strong internationalization program and offers Ingallish-taught Master programs, as well as a number of Gardlian, Angliyaan, Phenixian and Hibernian language courses. Other institutions for higher education include the School of Arts and the Hortus Botanicus botanical gardens with many old and rare specimens from across Vexillium. Biodome is a government-sponsored and royal patronage scientific research park on the outskirts of Saint Thomas. It specializes in brain sciences, stem-cell research, genetical research and nano technology. It houses a stem cell bank. Transportation Saint Thomas has a canton wide system of underground metro, street trams and licensed hybrid taxi cabs. The international airport, Saint Thomas International Airport (STT), is the biggest airport in Aethelnia. It is the prime hub of Aethelnia's national airline, Air Aethelnique. The airport has an underground metro connection to downtown Saint Thomas Central Railways station. Saint Thomas has a connection to the highspeed translongerath Occidental Express railway. Saint Thomas is bicycle-friendly, and has a cantonwide bicylce sharing system. Saint Thomas is centrally-located in Aethelnia. Several motorways in Aethelnia connect to Saint Thomas. An orbital toll motorway, called the Saint Thomas Halo, surrounds most of the metropolis area. There is a congestion charge zone downtown. Parking fees are steep. Non-residents are discouraged to use the car whenever possible. Administration Greater Saint Thomas is a canton. It is governed by a canton government of Lord Mayors and headed by a Lord Chief Mayor. The canton govt is appointed and scrutinized by a 89-seat democratically-elected unicameral canton parliament. The parliament is elected every 4-years. Greater Saint Thomas is divided into 8 municipalities, which are called Boroughs in Greater Saint Thomas. Of these boroughs, two have special status, namely Saint Thomas Old Town, as it encompasses the historic medieval core town of Saint Thomas, and secondly Saint Thomas International Airport (STT). A special district is the Saint Thomas City Business District (STT-CBD), which is administered by resident companies and interests, under auspices of the Lord Chief Mayor of Saint Thomas. Sports Saint Thomas has it's own soccer team, called the Saint Thomas'Angels. They are sponsored by Occidental Express, the Translongerath highspeed railway service. The team competes in the Aethelnian Soccer Cup. Jurgen-Mayer-H-Seville-Spain-photo-Fernando-Alda-yatzer-12.jpg|Downtown Saint Thomas's Parasol Metropol Saintthomascathedralaethelnia.jpg|Saint Thomas Cathedral buxus elephant.jpg|Saint Thomas Topiary Gardens Marqueyssac gardens.jpg|Saint Thomas Topiary Gardens Sightseeing * Saint Thomas Cathedral * Saint Thomas Royal Palace * National Museum of Arts of Aethelnia * Royal Opera of Aethelnia * National History Museum of Aethelnia * Hortus Botanicus * Saint Thomas Zoological Gardens * Saint Thomas Topiary Gardens * Saint Thomas Old Town * Parasol Metropol Category:Cities Category:Capital cities Category:Subnational_entities Category:Aethelnia